Unknown World

I am currently experimenting with new applications Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign which are requirements for the Digital Design major at The Art Institute. I did a series of 'Unknown Worlds' that you can also find in my gallery at http://www.imagekind.com/ if you would like to purchase a print.


Quote of the day: "Thou hast been... A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards has taken with equal thanks... Give me that man that is not passion's slave, and I will wear him in my heart's core, aye, in my heart of hearts as I do thee... Hamlet to his friend Horatio

Alex's Winning Art Piece

Recently, my employer had their annual Fine Arts Fund kickoff. They had a refrigerator art contest for different age categories. Alex won in her age bracket for her creation attached:

Mackenzie's Creations

My daughter Mackenzie loves to draw but in a different genre. She one day wants to be a fashion designer, in addition to a master chef, a culinary artist in cake decorating, a landscaper, and and interior designer. Attached are some of her newest creations in addition to an award of excellence for her piece displayed at the Fine Arts Fund refrigerator art contest:

Hunter's Creations

My oldest son Hunter goes through phases of wanting to draw. He used to draw all the time. Now, he is more selective of when he wants to create. Attached are some of Hunter's recent pieces. Hunter received two 'Awesome' awards for his snowman cutout and his crystal snowflake he made in art class an the Fine Arts Fund refrigerator art contest at my place of employment:

Seth's Creations

My youngest son Seth shares my passion for art and finds a way to create every day. I marvel at his talent at such a young age and I am elated that we both share an artistic talent and that we care so deeply about Art. Below are some of Seth's recent creations. He also LOVES to create collages and build things. I'm so very proud of him and absolutely love his creative expression. His first piece listed below is an award of excellence given to him from the Fine Arts Fund refrigerator art contest at my place of employment:

It's Good To Be Back!

It has certainly been a while since I've been back to my blogging. I missed it. I've been busy going to school at Drexel earning my Bachelor of Science in PSY in addition to enrolling at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh - majoring in digital design.

Sadly, the passing of my Father this past January has kept me from doing much on the creative side. I've been more focused on the kids and their activities and making sure we all had time to grieve and let time heal. It has been a difficult start to 2009.

I've been doing a little bit of manipulating some photos I've taken into digital designs. I will share a few as well as share some pieces the kids have created over the winter. I hope you enjoy:

This first image is a photo I took over the summer at Coney Island of a carousel horse that I manipulated with Photoshop. It has a fairy tale feel to it.

'Caesar's Creek'

Quote of the day: "That best portion of a good man's life, his little nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love." William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Original/Signed Painting

Watercolor on Paper

12" x 16"

Sold

'Frosted Autumn Leaves'

Quote of the day: "And remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand." Emily Kimbrough, 1899-1989, American writer

Original/Signed Piece
Mixed Media on Deep Cradle Canvas (Sides Painted)
12" x 12"

'Gourd'

Quote of the day: "We cannot prevent the black birds of evil from flying over our heads, but we can prevent them from building their nests in our hair." Chinese Proverb

Original/Signed Piece

Mixed Media Collage

4" x 6" on matte board

'Another Glass of Wine'

Collage series continued...

Quote of the day: "Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." Lao Tzu, c. 600 BC, Chinese philosopher

Original/Signed Piece

Mixed Media Collage on Paper

9" x 12"

'Garden Song'

Collage series continued...

Quote of the day: "One is nearer God's Heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth." Dorothy Frances Gurney, 1858-1932, English Poet

Original/Signed Piece

Mixed Media Collage

4" x 6"

'A Trip To Emerald Coast'

This piece was displayed at the Viva Gallery in Sherman Oaks, California for the Collage Artists of America's 2006 Open Exhibition. I won an honorable mention. This art piece currently hangs in my parent's home.

http://www.vivagallery.org/exhibits/CAA_2006JuriedOpen/index.html

Quote of the day: "The purpose of life is to matter - to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all." Leo Rosten, 1908-1997, Polish-born American writer and humorist

Original/Signed Piece

Mixed Media Collage

12" x 14" (Framed)

'King Me'

This piece was displayed in National Collage Society's Art Dialogue Gallery in Buffalo, New York for the 2007 postcard exhibition.

Quote of the day: "There is a great man, who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who makes every man feel great." G.K Chesterton, 1874-1936, English novelist and critic

Original/Signed Piece

Mixed Media Collage

4" x 6"

Bloomingdales Spree

More in my collage series. This piece hangs in my sisters home.

Quote of the day: "He who knows the light, and at the same time keeps the shade, will be the whole world's model." Lao Tsze (c. 604-531 BC)

Original/Signed Piece

Mixed Media Collage (Framed)

24" x 30"

'R&R'

Another in my collage series.

Quote of the day: "Wait, thou child of hope, for time shall teach thee all things." Martin Tupper (1810-1889)

Original/Signed Piece

Mixed Media Collage on Paper

9" x 12"

'Halloween Invitation'

Quote of the day: "The optimist is wrong as often as the pessimist. But he has a lot more fun." Anonymous

Original/Signed Piece

Collage on Paper

5" x 7"

Mackenzie, Hunter & Seth Mason's Halloween Creations

We were so bored while waiting for the electricity to come back on, so we went to the library and checked out a bunch of Halloween books which gave the kids inspiration for their attached drawings. They all wrote poems too. Hunter got the gold star for his poem which was short, but very creative.

Witches watch the time

Ghosts roast their toast

Pumpkins are punks

Mummies hum Hmmmmm

BOO!

Quote of the day: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Pablo Picasso

Picasso Inspired - Fruit Bowl

Quote of the day: "To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it - who can say this is not greatness? William Makepeace Thackeray, 1811-1863, English writer

Original/Signed Painting

Acrylic on Canvas - Sides Painted

12" x 16" x 1"

Domino Effect

This piece was displayed in the National Collage Society's 9th Annual Postcard Exhibit at Cuyahoga Valley's Art Center.

Quote of the day: "The old woman I shall become will be quite different from the woman I am now. Another 'I' is beginning." George Sand (Amandine Dupin), 1804-1876, French novelist

Original/Signed Piece

Mixed Media Collage

4" x 6" on 8" x 10" Matte Board

'Mrs. Jones'

This piece was displayed at the Butler Institute of Art's National Collage Society's 21st Annual Exhibit.

Quote of the day: "We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden." Johann Von Goethe

Original/Signed Piece

Mixed Media Collage

9" x 12"

'Wink'

This piece was displayed in the Beaux & Eros II Exhibition at the Peninsula Museum of Art in Belmont, California.

Quote of the day: "Of all the forces that make for a better world, none is so indispensable, none so powerful as hope. Without hope man is only half alive." Charles Sawyer, 1887-1979, American lawyer

Original/Signed/Framed Piece

Mixed Media

8" x 10"

'Fly Away Dream'

There is an element to children's art that surpasses that of adults, due to its purity and inability to be manipulated into something untrue. This piece I created reminds me of a dream I once had when life was hard and I just wanted to fly away in a cloud of balloons to someplace pleasant.

Quote of the day: "Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination." Voltaire, 1694-1778, French philosopher, historian and writer

Original/Signed Piece (Mixed Media)

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

8" x 8"

'Mexican Sunflower'

This painting represents Autumn at the end of this beautiful summer.

Quote of the day: "If I had two loaves of bread, I would sell one and buy hyacinths. For they would feed my soul." Author unknown

Original/Signed Painting

Acrylic on Deep Cradle Canvas

5" x 5"